SB 389 
.H98 
Copy 1 









AN ESSAY 
ON THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE 



THE MAKING OF WINE. 

By I. G. HUTTON, 



uosokahy membeh of the n. york state society 

TOa the PBOMOTIOKOF AGRICULTUnE AKD THE ARTS, 



— — — Deiis nobis felicia vini 

Dona dedit, tristes Jiojjiinum quo munere fotit. 

Rcliquias ; mundi so]||tus vite ruinam. 

PRffiDIVM HUSTICUM. 



WASHLYGTOA^: 

rUBMSUEB BY THE AUTHOR, F STJIKEIV 



1827 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBJJl, to tvit : 

BE if remeitthevcd, 'Ihat, on the 22iid day of November in the 
year cf our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
six, and of the Independtnee of the United States of Amer- 
ica, the Fiftieth, ISAAC G. HUT'IOX, of the said District, 
has deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the right w hereof 
\Mt clainis as Author, in the words following, to mit : 

The Vig|neroii ; an Essay on the Culture of the Grape, and 
the makini^ of Wine. By I. O. HU FTON, Honorary Member 
oftlie N. York State Society for the rromoliou of Agriculture 
&i\d the Arts. 

'* Deus nobis felicia vini 

Dona dedit, tristcs honiinuni quo rannere fovit, 

KeUquias; mundi solatus vite ruinam." 

PRCEDIUM RUSTICUM. 
In conformity to an*act of the Congress of the United States, 
eiititied " An act for the encouragement of learning, by secur- 
ing the coi>ies of Maj)s, Charts, and Books, to the authors and 
proprietors ofiuch copits during the tiuies therein mentioned" 
—and, also, to the act, entitled " An act, supplementary to an 
act, entitled * An act for the encouragement of learning, by 
■securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the au- 
thors and pro|)rietors of such copits during the times therein 
nieutioned,' and ,extending the benefits thereof to tiie arts of 
designing, engraving, and etching historical and other Prints." 

lu testimony wliereof, I have bereunto set n»y 
t******* ♦ hand, and affixed the public seal of my 

£ L. S. 5 office, the day and vear aioresaid. 

L*-i******t ' EDM: I. LEE, 

'*'**^^^^ arr^■ of (he DisU Columhith 



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1 5^ ** The Vigneron''^ contains the result of 
\ • several yearns inquiry and experience relative 

i' J to the culture of the vine. The form in 
' which it is noto presented to the public is 
X thought to be more suitable than prose to 
^the desultory nature of the subject. Instruc- 
'"' lion cannot be gained so well from books as 
from practice. 

The object of this ivork is, therefore, not 
only to elucidate the science of this branch of 
' Agriculture, and in part to harmonize the 
conflicting opinions which have been ex- 
pressed relative thereto; but, if possible, to 
induce the reader to consider the impor- 
tance of the subject, with a view to the re- 
form of those evils which the culture of the 
grape, and the substitution of wine for other 
spirits, are well fitted to remedy. Critics 
and literary cuthroats out of the question, 
this production is submitted to the judg- 
ment of those ivho are more particularly 
concerned with its recommendations. 



I 



'^mm wdmmmmmm^ 



COLUMBIA'S wealth T sing-, as yet unknown, 
Tho' doubtless since the earth last chose her poles, 
Binding them fast in dreary circling- ice, 
And the sun shed on thee a g-enial ray, 
And tliy Almig-hty planter bade arise 
The fii-st tall g-rowth ; doubtless on it the vine 
Hung her blue clusters in the autumnal sky, 
Food for the passing" bird, or the sparse race 
Of man or beast inhabiting- beneath. 
But history shuts her eye on all the past, 
And seals from keenest search the nariative 
Of ag-es, numberless, forever g-one. 
In this what saith the Providence of Heaven ^ 
'Look to the present and the coming days, 

* Let useless speculations be restrained, 

* And take the real blessings of my hand.' 

Our fathers tho-aght not of the purple stream 
That asked their leave to flow, and was denied, 
While the tall forest tree murmuring bore 
The pendant pirate load of blushing grapes. 
Then the vine roamed aloft from tree to tree. 
Enamoured of the sweet refreshing breeze. 
And all beneath was dreary, dank, and wild. 
There crawled the deadly snake; and the wild beast 
Rushed from his covert,' when thro' matted gloom: 
The red man's arrow found his sly retreat. 
Perched on the lofty branch, peering with caution, 
The squirrel, skilled to store his winter^s food, 
:^t man's approach, screams loud his shrill alarm. 



O THE VIGNEROV. 

Our fathers came not from a land of wine ; 
Hence was extermination s0on decreed 
On the tall forest, and tlie spiral vine. 
I'he clanking- ax, and all consuming fire 
Allowed the g-lebe to drink the sun's full rays; 
The ploug-h, the hoe, disturbed the long- repose 
Of our old mother, she who feeds us still. 
And frequent ears of corn their toil repaid. 

Soon as the desert took the name of home 
Tlie apple tree was planted: patience was then 
Tofval with its long- minority. i 

Year after year blushed but a virgin bloom : 
Year after year in vain the search for fruit. 
Yet, let me not be thoug-ht Pomona's foe, 
■\^'hile ludf her g-ifts I spurn as meagre trash, 
Unworthy of the palate, or the mill, 
Or the rich pastry shrine fair fingers form. 
Should now the orchard feel the feller's stroke, 
Commissioned only to lay low the vile, 
"NMiat liavoc would ensue ! yet wish 1 not 
To ])hick up apple trees to plant the vine, 
For this is needless. 'Ihere is room for both. 

E\ en thou, Columbia, forty measured miles 
Reach round thy quadrilateral domain, 
Yet bound thy reason's wishes ; thoug-h around 
The borders of her g-iant sisters spread, 
From chill St. Croix to the far western Lakes, 
Or ii\laiul Oceans, (such they may be called,) 
To whc-re Geog-raphy 's in childhood still, — 
Fabulous land, and livers still unknown. 
Save to the adventurer, whose narrative 
Makes us, admiring-, wish we had been there ; — 
Vast copper rocks, shewn but by Ang-el g-uides. 
And islands where the sand is sparkling gold. 
Of which the sordid hand that dares essay 
To touch a grain, falls palsied by his side, 
Ajid drops the tempting dust. The ghostly guard 



PRACTICABILITY AND J 

Advancing-, makes the hapless man his prey. 
Unless with speed he hastes to his canoe, 
(Hisfrag-ile vessel now his only hope,) 
If, haply, in th' unfathomable deep, 
I'he g-iant spirit, striding* at his heels, 
May g-et beyond his depth, and cease pursuit. 
Let him return and g-uard the baneful coast; 
Our little District boasts a better soil. 

Seek ye, who wish, Missouri's distant source. 
Or the broad Mississippi's bayou'd shores ; 
Or the Columbia, where Pacific waves 
Receive her tribute, brought from unknown lands. 
Search out the land, and may you there find rest \ 
I envy not, nor offer hind^erance. 
Since thou, Columbia, from thy stony hills. 
Canst shed a purple rill of rich Tokay, 
And till the ample vat, at labour's call. 
Yes, I have tasted it. What is't to me. 
If others choose the wine of France or Spaing 
The taste, untutored at the vinter's school. 
Prefers it to the most " particular" brand. 
And wo is he who swallows liquid fire. 
Rejecting unsophisticated wine ; 
Wo to the bubbling- witchcraft cauldron, 
The Styx where wholesome food to poison turns 1. 
What taste could i-elish it ? what infant lip 
But turns in ag-ony from such a draught ? 
Mix it with sugar and the lemon's juice. 
Warm it, or cool it, and dilute it well, 
And let the nutmeg hide its odious stench, 
Then it goes down — and thus go fetid drugs. 

See ye the yellow ague shake the land 
From Dan to Beer-sheba I freezing in summer, 
Or, maugre winter's wind, drying the bones 
With fire, I ween, that dropped from whiskey still. 
As the corporeal, so the mental man 
Feels the dire influence ofthe maddening draught. 



Sf ADVANTAGES OF 

And latent rag-e lays wjut for slight affray 
To kindle into deadly rag-ing fire. 
Who has not grieved for Martin ? who has checkei^l' 
The g-low of indignation 'gainst the wretch, 
By whiskey heated up to murderous wrath, 
Who pierced his bosom with the jagged slug. 
The innocence of childhood is not safe, 
Nor woman's delicate endearing form. 
AVhen the drunkard rages, worst of ravenous beasts. 
Father and husband are unmeaning names. 
The tie he severs by th' exploding spark. 
Vengeance cries loudly ; butth' unpleasing sound 
Suits not my present strain :— yet take one glance 
One transient glance. Nay start not back ! approach 
And with determined hand remove the cause. 

View, in one mingled mass the^ still's product, 
For but this age of ours, a spacious sea ! 
In it the ghosts of all the slain behold. 
Writhing in all their various agonies. 
Like the deep groaning ICirauean lake. 
There, midst a squalid group on yon black knoll. 
The widow sighs. There flows a rill of tears. 
There orphans sit, whose fathers are not dead. 
Their cries for bread are lost in the wild roar 
Of bitterest torment ; for beyond you see 
The brothel's turmoil. In the noisome flood, 
Sinks, momently, the sad deluded wretch, 
And momently the lifted head eructs 
In nauseous accent, the dank poisonous fumes; 
And notes of mirth and strife together rise, 
With vomitings and groans of deadly sick. 
And unrepenting desperate remorse 
Yell hideous discord. 

What to the healthful stomach can a flood 
Of sheer erosion do but sap its powers ? 
Nature, off*ended, throws up her commission. 
And art's crude fire urges the nice machine? 



CULTIVATING THE VINE. \f 

For a brief time, with more than natural speed. 
i Complain ye of Dyspepsia ? endure 
1 Your real sufferings, sprung- of fictious wants. 

Alike unknown to temperate toil and fare. 

Need your craz'd wheels of life essential oil f 
j Are ye so spiritless ye must drink spirits ? 
j Eschew such tinkering ! learn to prize heaven's gift. 
; Reject not "wine, which cheereth God and man." 
j Unlearn, depose your fictious nomenclature, 
1 And learn to relish the true native juice. 

Nor ask th* adulterous tincture from the still. 

Then undulating hills, in prospect wide. 

Shall hold sojourner's eyes in rapturous gaze 

On vines entrusting to the chesnut pole. 

The wine-grape's cluster and the desert's pride. 
He who is merry with excess of wine. 

Is merry. — Crackling thorns under the pot, 
i And the fool's laughter, leave no glowing coal's; 
. No pleasing recollection, none of the warmth 

Of virtuous energy, exalted thought. 

Or generous purprose. Mirth is hungry fare. 

And let him who has been deceived with wine 

Hence forth repudiate its mockery. 

Wine would not answer half of his intent, 

'V^ ho wills to be a drunkard: for he dies 

By his own hand, by more than dev'lish spite 

Against his own existence : all agog 

To peep into the bottomless abyss ; 

The which, by chymical affinity. 

As well as moral, seems a menstruum 

In which he may be blended with his kind. 

Hell was prepared in mercy for the sot ! 

AVhere else could he retire ? for from this earfli, 

With ever quickening speed he hastes away. 

Spirits and water suit his taste at first, 

Then stronger and still stronger as he wheels 

Along the spiral track of the vortex 



10 INTEMPERANCE DEPRECATED, 

That soon shall drink him up, unless, in mercy, 
Not often asked in hatred of the crime, 
Not oft vouchsafed, he stands a miracle. 

Let the imag-ination for a while 
View the volcano's lurid precipice. 
Who can describe th' affright that nature feels 
When forth the lava issues from the cave 
Where rag-e resistless unextinguished fires ? 
At times the heavens, portentous, spread a vefil 
Of darkness, and the distant thunder rolls, 
And lightning- shews the horrid face of things. 
The beasts betake themselves to doubtful flight. 
And oft their feet the trembling earth betrays. 
The sea no less partakes the general dread : 
Her mighty bosom swells, her trembling waves, 
i' rightful and devious, dash the mountain rocks-. 
Then spar aloft on awful wings of fire. 
As sails the thistle-down in autumn's gale. 
The massive vitreous rocks, to other lands ; 
Leaving a flaming track that follows far behind. 
Then from her opening jaws, the molten earth 
.Prepares destruction for the fated plain ; 
Tlorror stalks forth, and all is petrified : — 
Th* engulphlng torrent follows, — It is done ! 
The city, that in pride and beauty shone, 
Incindered and entombed, oblivion's prey. 
Sinks ! unless accidental picks descend, 
Ey need, or antiquarian inquest urged. 
When, in the lapse of years, the awful wave 
Is cooled, congealed, and clothed in living green^ 
Inducing him whom penury impels 
To seek another home, there to retire; 
Build him a covering for his houseless train 
And break the scorious earth, while providence 
Befriends his labour, and the elements. 
And changing year, attemper the dry glebe. 
And verdure and abundance clothe the waste. 



AK KRUPTION OF LAVA 11 

Then the luxuriant vine yields her increase, 
And humble labour drinks, and lifts to God 
An eye of gratitude, an honest heart. 
Nature's delig-htful works, spread wide around, 
Shew nothing of the charnel house beneath, 
Found when unsouglit, and sought for long in vain. 
Let not the modest maiden's eye explore 
The subterranean streets and private roomsj. 
The temples, palaces and splendid baths. 
There stare the lasting monuments of crime, 
Sculptur'd obscenity, and luxury's arts ; 
The gorgeous banquet and the guest's attirecl^ 
Readily inferred : — there, of tlie coquette's form 
Regardless, time has spared her jewelry. 
The lordling's haughty look is blotted out ; 
Unknown his mouldering fragments from the 

slave's. 
Save where th' incarcerating chains are on. 
He who endured the blight of poverty, 
And he who made himself a fool with wine, 
Met here a common death a common grave ; 
Such Herculaneum, such Pompeii. 

Sleeps, then, the veng-eance of all ruling power.s 
V hich not the prayer of Abraham could restrain r 
The cities of the plain were overthrown. 
And Tyre and Sidon — where is all their pride f 
^Vhat tears were shed at Sion's coming fall ! 
And yet Jerusalem fell ! — What has not fallen* 
Where is the prosperous city built with blood> 
Or man, who, impious, hardeneth himself? 

Shriek not, if, all around, the burning wave 
Sliew thy affrighted eye-balls the last ray, 
Then seal thee up in deep oblivion. 
Thence may the soul, to realms of peace and light, 
Find easy egress. Vear Intemperance 
That sweeps to hopeless shades his hecatombs: 
Vear not the lurid skv, the molten earthj 



12 AND AEDENT SPIRITS 

The ocean straying from its usual bed, 

The tremor^ noise, and darkness that is felt. 

Lava is an innoxious stream to that 

Which dribbles from the alembic's crooked neck. . 

That deluges the land, insidiously. 

Under false labels — Medicine, Friendship, AVit. 

See the lycanthropist in grisly rage. 
Or vacant body awfully reel along ! 
Better had it in lava been encased. — 
Speak to it — not a beast's instinct remains ! 
An earthly spectre ! there the man is not ! 
A living dead ! an open sepulchre 
Whereinto youth and thoughtlessness oft fall ! 
But not in vain, surely not all in vain 
** To advertise in verse a public pest," 
For him who, labouring with a good intent, 
Brings out a substitute delectable — 
The honored, the acknowledged gift of heaven I 
But wine can mock; and what of heaven's best gifts 
Has not been oft abused ? Let the abuse 
And not the blessing, be objected to. 
"What use hath brandy? Frenchmen once propos'd 
The driving Cornish mills, where streams are not. 
Or, when the Apothecary's trembling scales, 
Per recipe of Esculapian skill, 
Deal cautiously, as rats-bane may be dealt. 
Then and thus only give it tolerance. 
Disdain, ye rulers, tho' ye ruled in rags. 
The filthy lucre drawn from taverns' toll. 
Where native wine abounds, intemperance 
Alien becomes — expatriate it hence. 
But nurse the vine with all your influence. 

What do ye with the drunkard ? what is done 
To maniacs, whether from fam'ly taint. 
Or disappointed love, or care, or fright. 
Or cause obscure, their malady took rise ? 
The mad house for the mad. Now, if you can, 



- COMPARED, IS 

Define the word Inapposite to the drurih, 

I'd wrench the murderous weapon from his hand, 

And let the Orphan's Court his substance g-uard: 

Should the asylum's discipline dislodg-e 

The demon legion, let him re assume 

His trust, and hold it during- competence. 

But if this generation must be damned 

To fire on earth, to fire— horror bars utterance ! 

Plant ye the grape before ye hence depart. 

Another age will drink with temperate joy : 

And thou O sacred Wine, emblem of love. 

Deeper and higher far than thought can reach, 

Thou shalt efface the stain of drunkenness 

From our else glorious land, and substitute 

Bland habits, mental and domestic peace ; 

As the black load of sin which bids him groan. 

Whose conscience slumbers not, falls off at sight 

Of blood and water on Mount Calvary's brow. 

Blood of the Son of God ! strange virtues thine \ 
He who was dead shall live if once he taste 
The sacred stream, and know from whence it flows. 
Blood of the Son of God I when, (of thy flow. 
Predictive,) the memorial of th' escape 
From Egypt's bondage, as observed h\ him 
By whom all things were finished, all fulfilled, 
Thou wast appointed, when that feast was o'er, 
Emblem of love unknown on earth before. 
It was a heavenly strain that filled the air. 
When the angelic escort hailed the birth 
Of him whose life was all an act of love. 
First when a guest at the connubial feast. 
Water obeyed his half expressed desire. 
And glowed and sparkled a delicious wine. 
And last, what could he give ? or what withhold ? 
He gave, in loirie, his v ery blood to drink. 
" Do this in memoryof me : 'tis my blood, 
B 



14 THE SACHAME-VT &C. 



,(*^.:V..^t 



The pascal sacrifice for many slain. 
1 shall not drink thus of the vine*s product, 
Until I drink it in the reig-n of God." ; 

Beverag-e of heaven ! who shall presume to drink 
T' inebriation of thy holy stream ? , 

Theme sacred ! If a spark of heavenly fire 
He kindled, shall I quench it ? ye who war 
With heaven, and the best extacies that thrill 
In human veins, and bid men recog-nize . 

Their heavenly orig'in ; who deprecate 
The dawning- day of long- millennial rest 
From evil's domination — mirthless joy ; 
Turn these few tedious pag'es, or g-o join 
The drunkard's song', and share his joyless mirtll. 

O thou art doubly dear, Heaven's favourite g-ifi, 
When saints commemorate undying" love, 
And feel its glow reflected each on each ; 
While many a sweet remembrance fills the soul. 
And silence best bespeaks the extacy ; 
And circling- all around, that sacred wing", 
As erst upon the Head of the church, so now. 
Seems toalig-hton all its humble parts. 
And bind them in one common tie of love. 

What pity that contention long- has rent 
Faith's household ! as if difl^erent hopes were theirs, 
And different ends pursued : unmindful sure 
Of the chaste emblem of comming-ling-love— 
The mmiy berries, that make but one wine. 
O, is it not at hand, the promised day 
When he, the sire of falshood and deceit, 
Shall be imprisoned ; and truth's noon-day beams 
Shed unobstructed, all pervading- rays, 
And every eye receive the heavenly light, 
When the first favoured sons of liberty 
Shall deem the tawny aborig-Inal 
Of kindred flesli, a brother and a friend, 
And at one table hold the sacred feast : 



OM NATIVE CRAPES- 15 

When Niger's stream shall bear the notes of joy, 

SwcHing-, in simple melody ; the song 

Of sable crowds, rejoicing- in the lig'ht 

Of g'ospel truth, and perfect libei^tij ; 

When Nig-er's streams shall hear no more the sig-h 

Of slaves, whom hope, kind hope forbears to mock 

"With the most distant view of happiness ; 

M'hen Greek and Mussulman shall join their hands 

In mutual fraternity and peace ; 

And Europe thirst no more for power and blood, 

And Chinese leave their Pag-ods to the owls, 

And hear, submissively, pure g-ospel truth : 

\Vhile India's ample plains and fragrant woode. 

Rivers and mountains — all her populous clans 

Joy at deliverance from their bloody rites, 

And substitute the easy yoke of Christ. 

Ah, the scene opens as we farther go^— 

Let holy thought pursue it. I return : 

And to the vigneron's toil, the homely Muse, 

Unskilled in graceful circlings, drops at onccy 

Ask not of transatlantic realms the Plants 
That shall unfailingly reward thy care : 
Here, sterner winters bite th' unshielded eartK 
With fructifying frost, at times too sharp 
For frail exotics. Trust the native vine ;— 
The Fox, the Bland, Schuylkill, and Catawba. 
These have withstood the chill northwestern blas^ 
The burning sun-beams, and the summer's drought. 
The shade of trees, and most untimely rains. ' 

While naught of tillage at the root appears, 
No pruning knife has lopped the useless growtli 
Of vagrant tendrils, yielding only leaves. 
W hat fi'om the matted canopy that spreads, 
Untutored and at will, its tender shoots 
Oe'r tall tap-rooted trees, can you expect 
But grapes, (if grapes at all,) diminutive,, 
And branded with a vulpinary name", ■ '" 



1&. EXPERIMENTS RECOMMENDEDu 

Yet taloe the fox or racoon and' their kinds,- 
Into thy fertile soilj and tend them well^ 
And but a year or two shall pass away, 
Till a fair promise shall inspire thy hope. ' 

Strange mysteries are in nature. It is said' 
The ivy and the vine grow not together. 
And, note ye, do the pine's unceasing shade. 
The walnut's odorous leaf, and fetid herbs 
Offend the delicacy of the vine ? 
Some say the quince tree blasts contiguous fmlts : 
Then catechise experiment. Offence 
By some are given, others may give delig-ht. 
And to thy cup ti'ansfer it, thrice endeared, 
The product of thy soil, thy hand, thy mind, ^t 
ijoes not the bean in flower receive a dye 
From neighbouring plants of simultaneous bloortf?'- 
See how the progeny confess the theft. 
The leek and rose, *tis said, when side by side> 
Respectively a stronger odour yield. 
And let experience ]>onder and explore 
The varying forms and flavor and perfum^ 
That busy nature gives her curious work% 
As if in playful mood, or else disposed 
To recompence man's curious research. 

But let us first by obvious means reclaim 
The long neglected grape of native growth. 
Let the rich man, for whom adventurous ships 
So long have brought the wine of foreigm lands, 
And carried off our silver and our gold, ! 

Revolve my exliortations in his mind ; 
Bid- his attendants to the woods repair. 
And bring him wherewith to experiment. 
Tis done. The well braised grapes, t;bnuse notr 

the seeds,} 
Look like fallen warriours in a sea of blood. 
Let the mass stand, fearless of the result:;" 
Measure not success by the first essay,. 



ON NATIVE WINE. 17 

Six hours may be too short ; extend the time. 
Note yoiir experiments on various fruits, 
AndM)on, as in the oldest vineyard lands : 
Each shall account his plan the parag-on. 
The mere ^^oui of.pale wine stands a short time. 
By loog'er mashing, will the purple rind 
Yield up its colouring- and encysted sweets. 
Others account it all unneedful toil 
To bruise the grapes at «11. Archimedes 
Can press the pumice dry, bruised or not bruisedi 
The screw relaxed, economy supplies, 
With limpid water, the shrunk vesicles. 
The mass well stirred about, ag-am is pressed : 
And a small table wine, abundant flows. 
Happy the day when labour's urgent thirst 
Shall, at the fatal pump or tippling- house, 
No more be quenched in death or worse than death. 
'Tis done — the well g-irthed tun can hold no more. 
The weltering- flood casts forth ulig^inous scum, 
And watchful hands supply a purer juice. 
But of the pure blood of the g-rape beware. 
A sextary may all'thy secrets tell ; 
It may unseal thy lips. and blab that out 
Which cost the many a nice experiment. 
Ere half seven years, or half of that has passed, 
For Galenas law is abrogated now. 
Nor make we wine for men of future days, 
Boiled or evapoured to tenacious g-um ; 
Nor do we prize It for extraneous drug-s. 
As pungent herbs, or pitch, or turpentine ; 
Nor yet because two hundred leaves have dropped 
From the deciduous grape since it was made. 
Nor yet because 'tis weight for weight of gold. 
We have a generous wine at twelve month's old, 
Maugre the squibs of Bacchanalian fools. 
Let temperance taste and prejudice shall die. 
Long may 1 toil for you, ye plodding throng. 



18 NATIVE GRAPES NEGLECTEID. 

Wliose daily labour checks but daily want, 
(Of custom, you the soil, but not the seed,^ 
K'er on youi* tliirsty lips the rummer rest, 
Decanting' cheerfulness and rosy health. 

What ! hath the Muse already votaries gained ? 
See w'hcte the thrifty poor, now sally forth 
With baskets, to the humid slashes bound, 
Mhere Tiber's tributary rills supply 
'ilie fox g-rape's thirsty root, much fruit is there ; 
But long' may not remain. Geometry 
Mas spread its mag-ic measurements; and soon 
'f'hc hum of commerce and the boatman's voice 
^^ ill chase the mocking'-bird and change the scene. 
And these meandering" streams be found no more : 
For the fur fetched canal will sweep along- this vale. 
Doth the Muse falsely prophesy? Will men choose 
Sheer |)hantoms, and the good at hand reject ? 
F/en as the youtliful band that caught my eye, 
Not to the grape, but to the bramble bush, 
Obsequious bend the knee. He deigns to shed - 
Imperial purple on tlieir outstretched hands.—''. 'Ji 
* i'was thus to royal dignity he rose ; - • ^ 

'i"he trees went forth to choose themselves a kin^, 
And to the olive said rcig-n over us ; — 
The peaceful plant refused the offered crown. 
Pleased witli its lot, to honour God and man : 
Nor would the fig tree cast away her sweets 
'I'o go and be j)romoted over them. 
Then said the trees unto the vine, come thou 
l^eign overus; and thus the vine rephed : 
>\ hat ! leave my \f\ne that cheere-th God and man, 
And go to be promoted over you ? • 
Not thus the bramble. — Vile obreptious weed ! 
Haste to thy doom, the flames ; or if thou live, 
O'er thriftless hedge-rows spread thy royal arms, 
But wake me not ag-ain from my sweet dreams. * 

As if to suit the most fastidious taste, 



CLIMATE &G. ADAPTED TO GRAPES. 19 

Wine varies in the flavour. There *s no end 
In the variet3'^ : nor is tliere found 
A full solution for the subtile chang-e. 
Each cUmatt has an influence of its own ; 
The season'' s change the aspect, and the aoily 
Each bring-s a tribute to the g-eneral whole. 
Ours is the latitude : and north and south. 
For ten deg-rees each way the zone may stretch. 
Along- West Florida and Orleans' coast, 
Through to the great Pacific, g-rapes will grow i 
And northward, part of Canada may hope. 
With native wine to cheer her winter's g-loom. 
For seasons when the vine yields her increase, 
Invoke not Bacchus, but the Living- God 
I'o smile upon the labovirs of thy hand, 
And shield from blig-ht its promised rich reward.' 
Hath Heaven a favorite plant, it is the vine. 
The aspect too, whether septcntrial slope, 
The summit, or the slope to the southeast. 
Is matter for experience to decide. 
Theory prefers the last or airy height, 
liut nature, in our District, plants the vine 
Promiscuous o'er the hills, near running- streams. 
In deep alluvial, though not marshy lands. 
And why ? This is her climate : she asks not 
For the sunny side of hills, but rather seeks 
Cong-eniul moisture, and congenial soil. 
In every clime let nature be the guide. 

On rich alluvial Soils a hope may rest 
Securer then when built upon the rock. 
The roots of plants by nice experiment 
Have oft been found descending to a depth 
Almost as great as the ascending- growth. 
Yet rocks are better than tough humid clay: 
Midst these, by rains brought down from age to age 
From neiglibouring mountains, debris thick is 
found. 



20 SIASEIRA. 

The vineyards of the far famed Hermitage, 
Amongst the debris of its granite rocks, 
Boast of the wine produced, and well they may. 
And where volcanic fires have spent their force. 
The lava, once a fiery flaming sword. 
Becomes, by time and culture, fertile soil. 
And there the grape its richest nectar yields : 
The Mediterranean shores give proof of this ; 
Madeira's blackened rocks and scorious soil 
Evince the same ; yet the vine freely grows 
On a red earth; claj, sand, and marie combined. 
Unmixed with pumice stone. Such soil have we. 
And such a soil doesAdlum recommend, 
The father of Columbia's vineyards. 

Madeira's subterranean fires were quenched^ 
Long ere fond lovers found enchantment there. 
Or raging flames had laid the forests low. 
There cedars grew, and lignum klodium. 
Pines, walnut, chesnut of superior growth, 
Now flourish ; and who fells a tree is bound 
Forthwith to plant another in its place. 
There, first in all the new-found hemisphere, 
Grew the rich sugar cane, whose fine product. 
Of vi'let fragrance, sank to disregard, 
As bowed the forests to the princely vine. 
The plains and scorious hills one livery wear. 
All striped and girdled with the trellis rows. 
That pour their streams into one reservoir. 
The never failing fountain of her wealth. 

Our verse, regardless oft of flowing sounds. 
Will name Madeira's chief varieties : 
Bual Barterdo Preta, Negro Mole, 
Verdelha, and Boalerdo Branca, 
Malvazia Rocho, Sercial Gro§a, 
Alicant, Malvazia, Sercial, 
Babosa Tarantey, Neprinha, Ferral, 
Marotta, Lestrong Galija, Bringo, 



ON soils: 21 

Dodo de Dama, Alicante Branca, 

Castlda Nepiinha de Agoa de Mel, 

Muscatel, Malvaziam, Castelnaw, 

Uva de Lisboa, Preto. The three first 

(The rest rejected) would make better wine. 

The Tinto grape gives wine like Burgundy, 

But generally is blended with the rest. 

Reserving Malmsey, sweetest of the sweet, 

Sercial, that of dry wines is the best, 

And a large desert fruit of massive bunch. 

But lo ! what toils of late, await the swain : 

At six feet depth his labouring pick must search 

For humid soil, and there immerse the plant ; 

Or where factitious streams may chear the root : 

For the parched land pines for its desolate groves^ 

And has not aught to shield it from the sun. 

Or catch. tlie vagrant moisture of the clouds. 

Or shed abroad exhilerating air. 

Here, may the forest still retain due bounds;. 

And no such arduous culture, ask the grape. 

From every land with care let us collectj 
The costly lessons of Experience. 
As yet no prejudice has shut the eye 
Upon the light of reason and of truth. 
And I shall glory when far in the shade 
These humble lines are cast by juster thought-. 
"Were 1 required in a brief word to say 
What mostrequires the vigneron's ceaseless search, 
SOIL — its best use and culture were the theme. 

The earth is covered, like a gilded ball. 
With a rich coating, yet ar6 evident 
Marks of attrition and commotion found. 
In manjrplaces, lay uncovered beds 
Of solid clay and rock and barren sands ; 
In other places an unmeasured depth 
Of soil is found mingled with the above^ 
Hence clayey, loamy, sandy, gravelly soH^ 



^2 LOCAL NAMES BY \VHJ(JH 

Scorious, stony, chalky and the like. 

Thus far the muse, if muse that should be called 
Which string-s prose matters up in careless verse, 
Sheer Typographical convenience, 
Reckless of collocation, rich and sweet, 
Tho' by the measuring- rod of Milton scanned. 
(Thus school boj^s, striding in a g-iant's track 
With effort quaint, presume to keep his step.) 
And tliou, O Mantuan bard ; temerity 
Itself must shrink from poaching on thy ground : 
I enter as a labourer — let me pass. 
Philips! when sweet facetious strains are named* 
'Tis almost sacrilege to name thee not. 
If e'er example could direct the foot 
That knows no beaten path 'twere thine alone. 
Thus far the muse has culled from means at hand,' 
Experience, converse with observing men, '> 

And men who have long dwelt in vineyard landsi * 

From England, land of science and research. 
Come my remarks on soils. Invention there. 
Nursed by her mother, has supplied the lack 
Of nature's bounty, and transformed the waste 
Into productive fields : nor feared " to plant 
Somewhat, that may to human use radound." 

Soil in good heart will bear some stately tre?. 
Congenial to its nature ; thus the oak, 
At Brampton, not at Cramford, richly thrives, 
At Cramford the witch-elm shoots beautifully, 
And beach in Sussex, elm in Buckinghamshire. 

To soils these local names have been applied : 
In Lincolnshire they talk of moorj/ land, 
A dark and crumbly soil, similar to that 
In Leicestershire and Warwick called hen-mouhl, 
Better for pasturage than for the plough. 
What tliey call hen-mould in Northamptonshire 
And Huntingdonshire, is a rich firm earth, 
The best of which is streaked with mouldy white.; 



SOILS AKE DISTINGUISHED. 23 

That in Northamptonshire called tvoodland soil 
Is damp and tough ; a vegetable earth. 
Mixed with black clay that lays unmixed beneath. 
Sand is in miniature the native rock ; 
No soil is free from it, where it abounds : 
Its colour as with clay, supplies the name. 
A kealy soil, so called in Warwicksliire, 
(Bespread with slates and stones, like mason's 

chips,) 
Freed from large stones, good crops of barley bear^. 
Lastly a loamy soil that from the plough 
Falls off in little flakes, called chisley land, 
For wheat, or rye, or barley suitable ; 
Thus, then, we judge of land by its product : 
The plough discloses its particular kind. 
The moory mellow earth turns freely up ; 
The hen-mould when firesh ploughed shews it« 

white streaks. 
Sandy and pure loam soils turn easily 
And make an even furi-ow. Chalky land 
Is ever dry and hard. The stony soil 
Falls as you may suppose, rough from tlie plough. 

How to improve each soil be now our task. 
Clay soils require most care in breaking up. 
I'he more of clay they have the more they need ; 
The plough, the sun, the air ; and these at length 
"Will break the toughness. Let it be oft plouglied, 
And to the depth the coat of earth admits. 
Stiff is the clay of Thrapston, yet the care 
In dressing, and the labours of the plough 
Make it the richest in Northamptonshire. 

Red chiy requires most labour to subdue : 
Deep and repeated ploughings break the clod^ 
And then manure of any kind does good. 
The best is chalk, next ashes, lime, and soot ; 
Ami dung, if well ploughed in, is of g-reut use, 
A field of red clay soil, tliroughly dressed-, 



r;^^ .. 



M »ED CLAY SOIL. 

Will keep in heart fifteen or sixteen yeai's. 

Indeed all clayey soils are much the same : 

^Neglected they are barren; but thus dressed, 

No soil has greater, better qualities. 

Till thus prepared, let not a clayey soil 

Be chosen for a vineyard : — thus prepared, 

An ample vintage will the cost repay. 

But let me reprehend the use of dung ; 

*Tis said it sensible affects the wine, 

It also draws together insect tribes : 

Yet, mixed with lime, no danger need be feai'ed. 

The city's nameless filth, on some wine lands. 

Brings in abundance an ill flavoured wine. 

From red clay soils the harvest comes in late, 
And later in proportion to the depth 
Of the pure clay, that lies beneath the soil. 
The soil when well prepared is good for wheat; 
And in dry seasons barley answers well. 
Its long retained humidity well suits 
The English bean. Here clover nevers fails : 
For turnips there's no better soil than this. 
In wood-lands or in pastures, this becomes 
A darker coloured soil. With care and thought 
Convert such pastures into arable. 
Such pastures, if they catch the wash of hills. 
If dressed with river mud, yield plenteously : 
Tho* a few years of tilth, without manure . 
W ould rob it of that rich luxuriance. 
Which, but with cost and pains, can be restored. 
Here the tap rooted tree has healthy growth. 
And mounts aloft by steady slow advance. 
A light and superficial soil yields food 
To spreading roots — n»y for a while may seem 
To nurse the oak, but soon the exploring root 
Finds there is naught beneath to feed upon. 
The stunted horizontal limbs above. 
Reprove the planter for his want of skill. 



.IT ■ 



YELLOW CLAY SOIL. ^ 

The ti'ces that spread their roots in quest of food 
tlob the contig"uous growth. Not so with those 
That deeply penetrate the pervious earth : 
And such they are that suit the red clay soil. 

Of yellow clay^ as next of kin, we next 
Shall take brief notice. Much that we have said 
Respecting- red clay, will apply to this. 
For yellow clay a sandy marie is best ; 
But here with closest scrutiny observe 
Tiie difference between yellow clay and loam ; 
The last is mixed with sand, the first is pure 
Except a little vegetable earth : 
The more of this the richer ; hence, to add 
Black veg-etable earth, will make the soil 
A hazel mould, excellent for wheat or rye, 
A yellow clay is poor, yet wiih g-ood heart ; 
Turn up the long- toug"h flakes : plough deep an^l' 

oft: 
Lay up the land in ridges east and west. 
And the sun's rays will mellow down the clod^ 
■Then see what is at hand — if clayey marie 
Avoid it, it is best for sandy land, 
if no attention to these things be paid 
Thy labour and thy confidence are lost. 
V here proper marie is not, dress first with sanii,. 
Spare not in quantity ; loam thus is formed. 
And hast thou sandy land, returning carts 
Mmy carry back stiff clay and spread it there : 
This labour once well done, is done forever. 
Next you may add well rotted stalks of plants ; 
What pity corn stalks are so often lost 
To every useful end ; excellent are they 
"When decomposed, for land of which we speak; 
Saw dust is also excellent ; ashes, too, 
Break the tenacity and nurse the soil 
With genial warmth The soil w hen thus subdUfed. 
-May with great profit be manured \yith scrot-. 



!2j6 white «LAY tiOtRS. 

Lastly, by burning' this or red clay soil 
Fertility ensues. The calcined heaps 
Become manure for that or other lands. 

Tho' red clay bottom lands are g-ood for grassj 
'Tis not so with the yellow. Upland grounds 
Free from o'erflowing and excess of wet. 
Suit the more plastic texture of this soil ; 
There cowslips flourish and few weeds are found. 
Save thistles, which all hearty lands produce. 
Pastures on yellow clay soil guard from wet 
13y trenching deep. Uplands may thus be made 
To yield their utmost gain ; let them be dressed 
"V^ ith hay stack bottoms, (both manure and seed,) 
TVitli dung and mud from river, ditch, or pond, 
Well mixed and spread when signs of rain appear. 
So that the sun dry not its virtues up, 
But these be drunk by the retentive soil. 

In timber trees no postdiluvian need, 
In hope of personal gain, plant such a soil, 
Unless long shaggy moss be all he asks. 
And he who loves not rotten hearted fruit, 
Must plant his orchard on some other soil. 
And thou, O favourite vine, shun yellow clay. 

Men often talk and write about clay soil, 
Wliat say they ? * something nothing right and 

wrong 
They lead their proselyte*. Houghton has said 
•That * clay contains a fourth part of fine sand' : 
True of the red, not always of the yellow. 
And white without a particle is found. 

JVJiite clay requires another mode of tilth 
I'rom the preceding Now his care must be 
To guard lest it be too much pulverized. 
This land with soot baulks not the reaper's hope : 
Eight bushels for the acre well sufhce— 
Eight loads of good manure the substitute ; 
•^iTdtHvf wetV imngled, mellowed a lonfif while 



Slack dlay s^iia W' 

Witli the manure, ansv/ers extreme!}' well'. 

Let industry thus multiply thy means, 

And these applied with judg-ment : then ag-hast? 

Lank laziness shall stand, with wondering- stare. 

To see thy heavy sheaves at harvest home, 

Broug-ht from the white faced plaines he litfle. 

prized. 
For pasturag-e or trees or pleasant fruit ; 
I'hissoil with profit cannot be employed. 

Black clay^ the richest in its native state^ 
By skilful culture, doubles its product. 
This soil contains more sand than the two first, 
More vegetable mould ; yet not so short 
And delicate to manag-c as the white. ^ 

A little rich manure, and lig-htly ploug-hed, 
This land will render back a rich return. 
That which when somewhat \yet sticks to this 

plough, 
Is purer clay. Here modify thy mood ; 
Marie and more manure is here required. 
But sandy composts here are not required. 
As this is usually a low land ground, 
Lay it as high as may be with the plough ; 
Abounding moisture is its common foe. 
If thou wouldst see the magic of manure. 
The pigeon house will furnish thee the means. 
Manure from hence sprinkled when barky 's soytW, 
At harvest will convince thee of its power. 
In pasture, black clay asks but little care : 
If you will dress it, spread well rotted dung. 
When rains descend, that they may wash it in. 
If it be mtei*mixed with stones beneath, 
Here trees will prosper ; but if solid clay 
That long detains the wet, oft mortal chills 
Bring swift destruction. Here plant not the vipV, 
Loa7n soil is the most common, lience oft called 
The mother earth ; all plants will gi'ow in it 



ScJi LOAM- SOiLU 

But 'tis the part of art to make them thm'^.e. 

Its composition is of clay and sand. 

With more or less of veg-etahle earth. 

Let patient inquiry be still alert 

And see what most preponderates ; then with skiU 

Unfailling- of success, suit the manure. 

liurned turf, and lime and hog-'s manure have beeil. 

With g-reat sucess applied to clayey loam ; 

And strang-e as it may seem, as g-ood manure 

From farriers' shops and tanyards may be had. 

Horn shavings, hoofs, scrapings and scraps of skill* 

On clayey loam a sandy compost spread, 
On sandy loam the opposite observe ; 
Spread clay and river mud and rotten turf, 
\\ hen vegetable mould preponderates, 
•Soot, yielding genial warmth, is requisite. 
A stony gravelly loam of little worth 
To indolence, by industrious is made 
A very fruitful soil. Bring' out your store, 
From stable, cow and hog and i)Oultry yard, 
Mix it with mud from river, ditcli or pond; 
And the large heaps, already in the field, 
Cover with fresh cut turf and let it rest. 
When mellow spread it, rains will wash it io.. 
Consult your leisure and your judgment too : 
Let not tliis work be done in summer's heat ; 
He who regards not this may toil in vain, 
Compare with him whose mind directs his haiXfil'. 
The moisture of manure is its best part. — 
On loam soil, trees and grass will kindly grow. 

On sandy soil our inquest next we hold- 
Pure sand is different from a sandy soil. 
Yet saiTdy soil is crumbly loose and light. 
A soil that holds together, yet consists 
In greatest part of sand, is sandy loam. 
Oi' sa7idi( soil, the definition is 
Neither prue sand, nor yet much else than sand^- 



bA^DY SOIL. £9 

And flamed, red, yellow, white, and black ; the last 
From mixture of black veg-etable earth. 

A sandy soil is g-enerally but poor, 
yet with judicous dressing- yields g-ood crops. 
These soils are dry and warm ; the danger is 
Lest its quick products immaturely die : 
No soil so illy bears continued drought. 
Yet this great evil, will good dressing cure, 
While the advantage of quick growth remains. 
Good management two or three crops may reap 
In each revolving year, from such a soil. 
Soil that is very sandy should be dressed 
AV'ith clay — this gives it a consistency ; 
Then spread manure well mixed with mud or turr 
As heretofore described. — Undressetl with clay, 
Unmixed with mud or turf, the pure manure 
Would be engulphed and lost in the deep sand. 
For generally beneath the soil, there lays 
A strata of loose gravel that absorbs. 
By every rain that wherewith tlioug-hless hands 
Might think to fertilize the barren plain. 
The poorest of these soils are often deep. 
This process gives a steril sandy land 
A warmth at heart. To plough it very deep, 
Burying old rags, skins, hoofs and the like things. 
Then spreading on the compost just prescribed. 
My reputation for veracity 
I would not risk, to tell the Ignorant 
What wonderous virtues are in filthy rags, 
And those that ere have seen need not be told. 

A land called chidey some account a loam. 
Yet as a touch dissolves the brittle flakes. 
Or slightest frost, it may be called a sand. 
This dressed with dung alone, will give good 
crops. 

In a wet season, barley, wheat or oats 
Do well on sandy soil. Cut great's the ribk 



^Q JSOn WHAT ADAPTED. 

In case of drought. 'Tis dressing- saves the crop. 

For turnips and all other esculent roots 

This is a favourite soil. Here they are free 

From worms that cannot burrow in dry soil. 

Potatoes, not to name would be a shght 

Unmerited by that much valued root; 

And carrots also and liguminous tribes 

All grow delightfully in sandy soil. 

A little but rich wine this soil will yield. 

Somt think no pastures in the world excell, 

'J'he yellow sandy soil in Oxfordshire, 

With a large share of vegetable earth 

By nature mingled : while continued care 

Gives frequent dressings with the compost nameti:, 

J'or kitchen gardens, this or sandy loam 

"Would I select, if fortune left me free 

Conveniently to make what choice I wouldi 

Such sandy soil as cannot give support. 
Nor a firm hold, nor moisture to the root. 
Suits not the forest tree. Except, indeed. 
To nurse the seedlings to convenient size. 
With shrubs, small fruit trees, and perhaps the vii\iB 
'I'his soil agrees; but, as of Marcley-hill, 
*' 1 nor advise, nor reprehend the choice" 
Of sandy soils for vineyards. They perhaps 
Were better thus tlian otherwise employed. 
1 judge no soil woidd bring a belter wine. 
And none from mildew better guard the crop. 
Not tiie mere surface, but the depth below. 
If you would be assured of success. 
Must be explored ; and once in two or three yeafs 
An ample dressing' must sustain the growth. 
Judgment must guide, for not a close research 
.Respecting soils, in vineyard lands sve find; 
Yet by analopry we safely judge: 
And here the apology, if such be asked'. 
For all this inquiry regarding soils. 



SOIL &C. ADAPTED TO GRAPES. Si 

la Spain they deem both sandy and wheat laitd 
Unsuited for the grape. Their favourite soil 
Is what the Eng-Ush would call chisley land : 
Their next best is red clayey. Hence we see 
That stiff sequacious clay no where will suit 
The vine, that lives not in cold plasUc earth. 
Spain has not often a cloud-blotted sky : 
Tiiere, note ye, how around the thirsty root, 
The wide expanded concave spreads its brim. 
That strag-ling- drops ma) meet in confluence there. 
Elsewhere the vine may thrive in sandy soil. 

The northern limits of the grape's broad zone, 
"W here rain most frequent falls, grapes may do best 
In sandy soil. Where parching drought prevails, 
'Twere vain in sandy soil to plant the vine, 
Unless factitious streams may shed at will. 
O'er all the land, their fertilizing store. 
In valleys where there is a proper soil, 
The grape in southern climates will do well. 
From winter's rain the Spaniards thus protect 
'T'heir valley vineyards. They are deeply dug. 
And thrown in ridges up towards the stem ; 
The mid-way furrow draines superfluous w'et. 
Then in the spring, when the young shoots cau 

bear 
llie vigneron's careful contact, he again 
Digs all the supcrfice and leaves it smooth ; 
But not as deep as when he dug it last. 
And when the grape has nearly got its growth, 
Before it ripens, he again bestows 
A shallow diging ; then the spade must rest, 
AVhere 'erthe vineyard be, 'tis nature's law. 
"With us 'tis much the same. "With tassled coni^ 
The time arrives when hoes must cease to stir 
The fruit-sustaining soil. 'Tis thus with mind: 
The pedant, ever pondering o'er his books. 
May be a fool, though learned, not less than he 



S'^. GRAVEL & STONY SOILS. 

Who never learned to read. Lay the broad base 

'111 early culture : let the vigorous g-rowth 

On it, not on thy tutoring rely. 

Nature is uniform in all her works : 

The philosophic tiller of the soil, 

«Her happiest favorite, shall her secrets learn. 

From this digression, which is meant to show 
How much the climate has to do with soils. 
We will return to our remarks on soils. 
That which is a mere gravel least deserves 
The care and labour of the husbandman. 
Yet stony aoils, forbiding at first sight. 
Have often a productive earth beneath. 
Manure, adapted to that hidden soil. 
And so laid on that rains may wash it in. 
Is hid, indeed, from view, and from the sun, 
But roots can find it, and a moisture dwells 
Beneath the stones and feed the stalk and ear. 
Here trees, if trees are found, find far beneath 
Their sustenance, and injure not the grain. 
Here beech trees grow ; see then if vines are found 
To flourish near the beech, and judge and act. 

On chalky soils, as on bare gravelly soils. 
Folding of sheep is found of great account. 
But we will pass. — The last that claims our thought 
Is mellow earth or vegetable mould ; 
In marshes, fens and praries often found 
Beneath the sward, unmixed with other soil. 
Oft in deep beds this fine black mould is found; 
Spongy when wet, when dry it crumbles down 
To a fine powder. Peat ground some suppose 
Neax'ly allied to this : it differs thus : 
The soil, where peat is found, will often shake 
Beneath the heavy tread ; the peat itself 
Is a tough spongy substance, black or brown ; 
Of parts of plants composed j flag leaves, stem.<?, 
roots. 



VEGKTABLE MOVLi3> 5?> 

tJemented by a pitchy bitumen : 
When wet it cuts with ease : it breaks when drj*. 
And shows a shining" fracture. Ploug-h with cart 
The soil that lies upon a bed of peat, 
For peat is steril as the naked rock. 
The ashes only may be used on land. 
^Tis said that in our District peat is found. 

This mellow earth is oft called moory la7id. 
There is a kind called /<^i land, mixed with cliljf 
Of a dark colour : when this soil is wet 
'Tis somewhat plastic ; and more firm when dry. 
The bed of clay that lies beneath this soil 
Often subjects it to injurious wet. — 
This evil shuned, clay renders such a soil 
Fit for the growth of grain, which, else, 'tis not : 
Unless, as usual with moory land, 
Sand give it the required solidity. 
When portions of both sand and clay are founU 
In this rich mould, then hath it not a peer. 
But little dressing does this land require; 
The compound being right, stable manure 
Is all it asks, at times to renovate 
Its powers, exhausted by repeated crops. 
In grass it answers best. Trees seldom thrive : 
The willow tree " rejoices in rich mould," 
The willow tree alone adorns the fen. 
A sable ground may yield " most ample fruit 
Of beauteous form and pleasing to the sight;. 
But to the tongue inelegant and flat." 
As mellow earth partakes of other soils 
So doth its products vary. Where there's loam 
In small proportion, there white poplars thrive. 
This earth when still less pure, gives common trees 
A rapid growth ; but rapid the decay 
Of timber thus produced. Hence let us learn 
When nature is our guide, she'll be our friend. 
Each soil has its own product, and 'tis t^at 



Whicli unrler our improvement best succeeds. 

Of various earths combined, we iiave said muc'^'; 
And more have left unsaid, yet briefer still 
Shall be ouv view of these in their pure state. 

Jied clay is found at a small depth below 
The soil of which it forms the greatest part, 
©anals or ponds may be secured by this 
From leakage : let it be well beaten down, 
Then spread with stones, and these well beaten lif; 
-'Tm ill be as firm and durable as lead. 
This and choped hay is used for pice work, 
For wall a substitute not to be scorned. 
This clay calcined and sprinkled o'er the groun^^ 
For pastures or for grain is excellent; 
And may be used in potteries and for bricks*. 

Yellow clay oft is found as pure as red, 
But wants its firmness, and more readily 
Dis?olves in water to a sobby mess. 
This, duely mixed with loam or sand, excells 
For earthen ware or bricks ; a bed of this 
By nature well prepared, is a rich boon. 
Of this the ware of Staffordshire is made. 
The best is firm and tough and streaked with white. 

Pure black clay is not common, there's a kind 
Of which pipes may be made, that, burnt, are white. 
The common ki'id is hlueish — used for tiles 
There is a black clay which when burned is red ; 
Another of a dusky leaden hue, 
Makes a good ware, and burns a yellow white. 

white clay is valuable though various, 
For instance, that from Pool in Dorsestshire 
Is very tough, that from the Isle of Wight 
?s somewhat brittle — they are both combined 
And make the pipe clay of most common use. 
Now this would I advise, when e'er you find 
A specimen of clay, try it by fire ; 
TTit have faults, these other clays may mend ; 



LOAMS, OeHBE.. &C. 3^ 

If well it promise, search at greater depth. 

Loam when unfit for culture, serves for bricks* 
Try a small piece ; if to a briliant red 
It quickly burn, deem it well worth thy thoug-ht. 
There is a brown loam, worthy to be named. 
Of which blue bricks are made, and Roman ur«s. 
Found at this day in Kent. Some loams are used 
In figuring and in staining earthen ware. 
But what is most deserving of regard. 
Is a harsh feeling loam, a yellow brown ; 
Composed of a large grained micacious sand. 
And yellow clay. He who shall find these mixed. 
Or mix them, and therewith make good fire brip^; 
May deem himself a rich and useful man. 
On the Potomac's margin, as ) ju go 
From Georgetown to the Falls, this sand is found, 
(If not the loam well mixed,) else I misjudge, 

Sandy Gravely Chalk we shall not now discus^. 

An olive coloured marl, called Fullers Earth. 
Is used in manufactories and on land ; 
And found at no great depth beneath the soil. 
A skillful search for this will not be vain. 

Ochresy when found in lumps in beds of clay. 
May, with good prospect of success, be sought 
Beneath the bed of clay — Well worth the search. 

Marie might be mentioned, not as simple earth. 
But as the king and chief of all manures. 
Nature has done her part with bounteous hand, 
Man's ignorance or indolence forbids 
Our drooping fields to riot on the food 
She has prepared, and left within his reach. 
Has not the least inquiring eye observed 
Somewhat that is not rock, nor clay, nor sancK- 
A soapy or a laminated mass. 
Yellow, blue, red, wliite, or of leaden hue, 
That crackles in the fire, in water meltSi, 
©r ©n the land crumbles in open air, 



3 b MAKLE. 

And spreads arround a fertilising cream r 
O tr}' it, pure, or mixed with clay or sand ; 
Only, adapt it to the proper soil ; 
And, persevereing*, you will soon discern 
Your labour well repaid ; and bless the hand 
That, ever bounteous, forms not aug-ht in vain: 

A sandy soil is much improved by marie. 
But use the clayey kind : this oft is found 
At a small depth beneath a clayey soil. 
tSome to the acre use but twenty loads. 
And foolishly complain no good is done ; 
Others profusely bury up the soil — 
Fifteen to eighteen hundred loads they '11 use. 
One to fowY hundred loads is deemed enough. 
When well adapted, smaller quantum servesj. 
An acre that could scarcely bring a weed, 
Four hundred loads of good fat marie restored, 
"Which, for four years, equaled the best of land. 
Some lands, for twenty or for thirty years. 
Retain their richness when well dressed with marle^ , 
Such richness as the farm-yard can't impart. 
In using it, observe, the stony kind 
In the young year is spread, or left in heaps 
To crumble by the influence of the air. 
The clayey marie in summer is applied, 
'Che loamy spread in autumn, after which, 
Sandy and pure marie (these for clay ground fit) 
Should be well spread and mingled with the soil; 
And thus no day throughout the circling year, 
Need pass unoccupied to good account, 
■Whether to corn or wine thy wishes tend. 

River mud, generally, is mellow earth. 
And, as manure, gives brief fertility 
With this, in planting cuttings of the vine. 
Sure work is made : first, in an oblong hole 
The cutting horisontally is laid along, 
Wi£h tile top upwards bent, this batter then 



RIVER MUD. 37 

Is dashed upon It ; then the ambient earth 
Detains the moisture till the far spread root. 
Secures the youthful plant its sustenance. 

Clay is an excellent manure for sand. 
But if so tough as to remain in cakes 
In spite of plough or harrow, then apply 
Loam which will oft ameliorate a soil 
In which clay will not mix and dung is lost. 
Both sfinc? and gravel will return to clay 
An equal benefit to that received : 
The coarsest sand best breaks the jejune clay ; 
The finest sea sand fertilizes most. 
Ten tons per acre make a good wheat land. 
And thickest, sweetest grass is thus produced. 

For cold lands horse manure is suitable. 
And co'iv manure is better for hot soils. 
These when well rotted must be soon ploughed in, 
Or their best properties are lost in air. 
"When high in ferment, mix them well with earth, 
Such as will mend the soil ; thus you may check 
Annoying weeds and worms and the tall growth 
Of stems productive more of leaves than fruit. 
Soils that produce much straw and littlt ears, 
May be improved by burning ; and I judge 
All scorious substances will urge the vine 
To yield rich bunches and restrain the growth 
Of far spread fruitless linrbs and foliage : 
Hence ashes are approved for this intent. 
And smoking horse manure as much condemned. 
This last and all its kind have been compared 
To yeast — a little leavens the whole lump, 
But more effectually when first combined 
"With a small portion of th' intended mass. 
Yeast has itself been used with great effect. 
These hints may well suffice observant minds. 
And they who follow books best not go far. 
Books may propose and counsel, thou vtwxst judge. 
D 



38 MAN-UBES IN GENERAL. 

The food of plants, thus skilftilly applied,* 
Will makethy wine press burst forth with new wine, 
And ample g-ranaries bend beneath their load. 
Strewing- thy. path with the best joys of life. 
To him who entered thy confiding breast, 
(Thy service rendered, and thy cash all gone,) 
Thy visits oft are made when "lie's engag-ed ;" 
Thy parent earth, thy ever faithful friend. 
Greets thee with new discoveries bf l\er love. 
Delights thy senses and augments thy store, 
And all thy labour with new strength repays. 

Salt when profusely scuttered o'er the ground, 
Produces barrenness ; yet accident 
Has proved its virtues to observant man 
Wheat, from a stranded vessel, has been found 
To grow luxuriantly and free from smut, 
And by unusual tides, the poorest lands 
Have been made fruitfid ; and have been kept so 
By folio vving nature's hint, and sowing salt. 
Two bushels to the acre v/as prescribed 
By England's ancient agriculturalists; 
The moderns deem three bushels not too much 

* ! Iiefoiiowing l)eaut'ifui paragraph fiom Sir H. Davy's Ag- 
ricultural Cheuustry, contains a world of instruction on this 
snbject. 

" The doctrine of the proper app'icr.tion of manures fi-om or- 
ganized substances, offers an illustration of an important part of i 
the economy of nature, and of tht happy order in which it is ar- 
ranged. Tlie death and decay of animal substancts teiid to re- 
soive organized forms into chemical constituents ; and the i)er- 
nicious effluvia disengaged in the process, seem to point out the 
propriety of burying them in the soil, where they are fitt. d to be- 
come the food of veg-etabUs. 1 he fermentation and ])Utrefactioa 
of organized substances in the free atniosphere, are noxious pro- 
cesses ; beneath the surface of the' groiuul tlu y are sanitary ope- 
rations. In this case the fo<jd of j)!ants is prepared w here it cam 
be used ; and that wliich wou.d oftlnd tiie senses and injtn-e tlic 
liealth, if txposed, is convert d by gradua: processes iii'ioformsi 
of lunuty and of usefuHness ; the fi tid gas is rendered a constitu-i 
ent of the aroma of the flower, and what might be poison, be-, 
coiuts iiuurisUment to auiiuals and to Oiun. 



STUDY OF SOILS RECOMMENDEI>. 3.9 

For the first dressing- of the poorest soil; 

Afterwards, one per acre is enoug-h. 

This species of manure suits every soil: 

And with the seed in sowing' lay it on. 

Sea weed, collected and at once ploug-hed in. 

Gives the soil energ-y for two or three years. 

And sea shells half calcined and their young' spawn, 

And parts of trees and plants, wood, leaves and 

bark, 
As that from tanyards, — all is g-ood manure ; 
And better yet, perhaps, for hasty gTowth, 
All animal substance, offal of be.*st or fish ; 
IJut a bland compost tliroughly decayed 
The vine's luxuriancy alone siiould prompt. 
The farmyard's obvious manures ask not 
A special notice; we have saug-ht to bring- 
*.lore latent treasure to the Vig-neron's vic-vV, 
That he may know all soils and all manures 
And find resource of fertihty 
Where ig-norance would thiiik all effort vain. 

Geolog-y has formed her alphabet, 
I,et the observing' farmer therewith spell 
The nature, use and tilth of every soil, 
^Vith accuracy science only knows. 
'T will g-uide him when he seeks himself a home, 
And if he have one keep him there content- 
A\ hile ig-norance forsakes his worn out land. 
Seeks others, these depraves, and thence removes.' 
The rudest waste perhaps may bring' a wine, 
In quantum small, in quality the best ; 
Hast thou such fruitless lands in thy domain, 
Tliere plant tne vme, and make th' experiment ; 
Rut look not there for b-anches that the fox 
Might leape at, while his dernier resort 
■*A ould be to call that sour he could not reach. 
Keep the vine closely pruned and near the earth, 
And thus a vintag-e, not to be despised. 



40 (JITE FOR A VINEYARD. 

Kcdccks the barren sol] : what other crop 
CoiiUl ever bring- a better revenue ? 

What ever hmd thy juilg'ement shall decree, 
Convenience or economy prescribe 
For the vine's precincts ; there let fire consume 
The t.tng-iing- brush wofid and disg-raceful weeds. 
Should it, for instance, be a southern steep, 
Cross ways from east to west the busy ploug-h 
On the descent should form alternate plains, 
A vista where the planter works at ease ; 
I'hen copious showers will feed the thrifty plants, 
But let not stag-nant neater mar the ground : 
The scullion's wash, and vermiparous filth. 
And noisome offal shun with pious carr. 
Yet spare not rich compost : the faithful soil 
\v ill recompence thee double for thy cost. 
The pig-eon house, and hen roost yield manure 
That none excells, but all, when mixed with lime, 
Or ashes or what e'er the soil requires, 
(For thou hast learned its nature,) do much good. 
Be the soil what it may. ! most commend 
To let calcareous energ-y pro>oke 
Nature's mysterious reproductive povvers; 
A wonder that remains when wonderers 
Drops into the vast laboratory. 

Is there no death in death i' docs death prorog-ue 
But congregated life, and bid the parts 
Go search for new associates, some to earth 
Grossly assemliled . some too pure for sig-ht. 
To roam the air, and feed respiring- lung-s. 
Or leaves, the pulnionaries of the plant; 
Others to feed the stomach or the root, 
With water, sug-ar, mucilage, and oil, 
Carbon, phosphorous, and calcareous earth, 
(As sayeth the assayer,) though ten thousand 

shapes 
And palpable ap])earance, taste and smel?. 



HEFLECTIOXS ON VEGETATION &C. 4.J 

Mock our minutest search of natures change. 

First how the vagrant niolucles can find 

Their kindred in the germinating" seed 

Or swelling- bud. For instance what was grass 

A year ag-o, can it presume to mix 

With the nectarious saj) that feeds the vine ? 

Ag"ain : who would abide the humbling- thoug-ht 

That the rich draug-ht that nerved Ulysses arm,. 

Flashed from his eye, and g-ave his arrows flight, 

\> hen all but Phemius felt his jealous rag-c, 

Has since, a thousand times in fo-al embrace, 

Become rank weeds that flourish round his g-rave. 

The cup perhaps that g-ave the deathless glow 

To song- that lives when pyramids decay ; 

Yea, for a hundred ag-es, has it been 

Exlialed to heaven and merg-e into the sea. 

And in its changes taken forms of life. 

The mig-hty power that bids these chang-es roll, 

Knows that the wisdom of the wise is vain, 

As microscopic tenants of a drop, 

I.ording- it each o'er each, to us would seem. 

AVhat if man's vig-orous orb take in its view 

A Quito's plain ? Or his g-ig-antic thoug-ht 

To f'himborasean heig-hts undazzled rise ? 

If there another- himborazo towered. 

Another Quito's plain as wide were stretched ; 

(Arduous research, and demonstration clear;) 

These and an hundred more if thou ascend, 

Aain wisdom of a Wi*rm ! canst thou from thence 

Subtend an ang-le to infinity ? 

^ hat hast thou seen and kn -wn ? thy^ paralax 

Is a lean cipher at its utmo=t stretch. 

The humble heart, the lamp of sacred o'\ 

By g-race supplied, sends upward to its bo;irce 

A purer flame ; sheds clearer lig-bt around 

Then awfid avalanchs' cold fitful g-lare. 

Proud science, will tliy tang-ent ever meet 



42 PAUCITY OF HUMAN KNOWLEDG:^ 

The secant of the good man's thought of love, 

Ascending uncontroled by finitude ? 

Tiiou know'st (and at the tho't let thy crest cower) 

That the remotest star's unmeasured bound 

IBrings thee no nearer than the startling point. 

Him who inhabiteth eternity 

To fear and love in truth, is wisdom's wing 

That palls not in its flight, but gains the goal. 

'Ihis wisdom may be his who tills the soil ; 

His who enchains the soul with silver tongue ; 

His who a nation's destinies conirouls ; 

Anrl his whom knowledge lifts above his kind. 

Be mine the humblest lot — yea, let me now 

In the wine garden unobtrusive toil, 

Keprcss erratick thought, nor turn aside 

To where a doubtful light directs the way. 

Let us observe what food experience finds 
Best suited to afford a generous wine ; 
For 'tis the soil, the culture, and the skill 
llather than the variety of grapes, 
Tliat shall affix the seal to native wine : 
O let no care be spared, e'er fate has fixed 
The destiny. Try all varieties 
Ofg'-apes, of tilth, of aspect, and of soil. 
And moods of preparation — if 'twere rocked 
In cradles in thy cellar, by device 
'J 'bat art would liit on with far less expence 
Than equater'al voNages that are famed 
And justly, for the richness they impart 
And liale maturity, unknown before. 
" Ijut the trite proverb e !" ah, there's truth in it : 
And wine from the same cask, the price enhanced, 
Has pleased the palate which contemned before. 

Oi' plant hi g- vhieyards — burthen of my song, 
Need I with studious care directions g-ive .'' 
For now Experience lends me his best aid, 
Apprised of, and approving this my theme ; 



WORK TO BE DONE— JAN. & FEB. 45 

But, with tlie rolling- year, the annual round 

Of labours to be done, attempt a sketch. 

Our year begins in nature's midnig-ht sleep. 

Nor much the vineyard needs labourious hands ; 

Yet preparations for more active scenes 

May now be made ;the stakes m:ty be prepared, 

And, frosts permitting, in their places set. 

The vines are most endangered, when a frost 
Succeeds a rain while the young wood is wet. 
In Germany they cover o'er the vine 
With earth to shield it from this dire attack. — 
This, then our remedy, if need require. 

The day when sons of Liberty rejoice, 
The birth day of her champion, on that day. 
Or soon thereafter plant well hoarded seeds 
Of choicest grapes, and in the richest soil. 
A cutting might be planted with the seed, 
]f one should perish the alternative 
Is where it aught to be, and will remain. 
If both should grow, let them have each two limbs, 
And keep them pruned and see what fruit results. 
The worse may be pulled up — grafted, and placed 
V. hen ere 'tis needed: (but if an old vine 
Should perish, let it not be planted there ; 
For thus such vacancies must be supplied: 
A neighbouring limb, unsevered from the stock. 
Must be bent down into the oblong hole 
'["here fastened, and the hole filled with good earth 
In other words a layer must supply 
The casual vacancies that decussate 
The vetran phalanx, long to blood enuredO 
And thou may est bless the day when hoarded seeds 
Of choicest fruit, to faithful soil was given. 
And men of future days, if folly live. 
May feel the thrall of juice that bears thy name 
And leering, lisp it in apology. 
With cuttings, is the least adventurous mode 



44 QV PllUNIN^. 

of planting out a vineyard : than you know 
"What you may hope for— and what would you wish 
Better than Cataieba, for wine or fruit. 

Seeds, layers, cutting-s, all afford thee plants ; 
And if the last thou plant, select round shoots 
'I'hickly beset with eyes, and one or iwo 
May be of last year's growth ; then cut away 
The top that it bleed not upon the eye. 
Cutting's and seedhngs of a former year 
Should now be pruned down to three e}'es at most 
Judge not the seedling's cluster by its taste 
Nor ask of infancy the strength of age, 
But when in mixture or alone it } ields 
A pleasant flavoured wine ; the plant by age 
yields juice more saccharine — a stronger wine. 
The eaily sweet and acqueous grapes should 

crown 
Thy hospitable board, and please the child : 
While oft the austere grape, like truest friend. 
Conceals till saught, its latent generous worth : 
Nor scan the grape by its diameter; 
.If it have drunk the sun's maturing rays 
And fdled with saccharine its viscous cells, 
W hat ere its name tlience may flow generous wine. 

"With the fallen leaf the planting time begins, 
Aild ends when Aries meets the sky's bridegi'oom. 
iMir then the sap, warmed in the vernal ra} s 
Itegins its flow, gushing from every wound — 
Yet some experienced vignerons prefer 
To prune when the vine bleeds ; these vignerons 
Appropriate, without grudging, tlieir best soils, 
Itich gravelly debris, to the gratefvd vine. 
By other mood of pruning might the vine 
Kun up too much in wood — superfluous sap. 
Of the most acqueous kind, thus runs to waste : 
And useless growth restrained, and fruit improved. 
A thin dry soil may no such surplus yield ; 



MARCH. 



43 



Hence autumn is prefered, or early spring- 
By otlier vignerons, each experience taught, 
Tho' few are able to assign a cause 
Of their wide diflerence, each possessing" truth. 
May it be yours, Columbia's favoured sons, 
Quick to acquire, seg-acious to discern 
Truths that to human happiness conduce. 
To teach the world the mystery of the tie 
Of decomijosing- and reforming- power-, 
As ye have taught that which binds man toman, 
And the shy fluid linking- earth and heaven. 

In early spring- let the ploug-h, spade, and hoe 
Perform their various functions ; to firm stakes 
Tie up in airy festoons the prone shoots 
Desig-ned for fruit ; those for supply of wood 
Fix closer to the stuke and let them m.ount 
Ye; net *-"o tv;,;v; — j'"'»-c what the soil can bear. 

Rub from old wood the shoots that now appear 
Unless required to fill a vacancy : 
And when an eye produces double shoots, 
Or evident superfluity appears, 
Rub off the worst, so shall the rest have room 
1" inhale the sun beams and expand their fruit. 
lint caution on all hands will be reqi'ired : 
Pruning- too closely is a g-rievous favdt, 
And an affront to nature. I once striped 
A thrifty saplin of its ample leaves. 
And now it stands a black and withered stake. 
The vig-our of the root, indeed, sent up 
A new supply of shoots — thus mortal wounds, 
CAs the\ mig-lUseem, youth's energies surmount, 
"NVhile somewhat from the track., let me relate. 
What bootless care I lavished on the vines 
1 hat T first planted. From the liberal hand 
Of Carberry the hopeful cuttings came ; 
I planted them uprig-ht, and many died : 
Of those that lived, vain were the g-uard of stakes; 



46 



APRIL, MAY, JUNE, 



The laundry made them all a lawful priae ; 
And careless feet broke down my choisest plant; 
And with it fell, and with it rose ag-ain 
My eag-erest hope : for, from beneath the ground, 
Up sprang luxuriant runners, round and thick, 
Which fltr outstriped the choicest limb that grew 
On th' hide-bound parent cuttings that escaped.. 

In April let thy planting all be done : 
And now with thumb and finger rub away 
The useless buds old branches may put forth. 
With all redundant shoots, as has been taught ; 
And bear with me if I again enforce 
Merciless slaughter of intrusive weeds. 
Pursley may be attacked in time of rain. 
For water soon dissolves the humid stems 
Whicli, if exposed to drougth, and seeming dead, 
Congenial moisture will recu.2it...l.c. 
Let other weeds be left to the sun's ray 
E're they have formed their seeds for future toils. 

In May with thumb and finger still break oft 
Small slioots that would entangde and impede 
The limbs that now shew fruit ; but act with care. 
In Europe's colder climes the sunny hill 
Keflects the scanty warmth through foliage thin. 
That climate may forbid th' aspiring vine, 
In umbrage deep arrayed, to mount aloit ; 
Ours may — particularly in fertile soil. 
Experiment, and hide not the resvdt. 
From this time till the vintage is brought in^ 
Thy walks of pleasure may in gain result : 
Ever be heedful of the flexile vine. 
And witli tough bark secure it to the stakes. 
The blossom-scented breath of summer breatliGR- 
A lesson, which, let me again repeate ; 
SuiTer no quick reviving weeds to rest : — 
The shuffle hoe mukes hasty and clean work 
And as the flavour of the grape is prized, 



JULY TO NOVEMBER. 4/ 

I'lom fetid weeds and filth keep the ground clear. 
The grateful ])roniise of the vintage now 
Will prompt the kind attention requisite. 
And here again conflicting' practices 
Ask sage experience to decide what's best. 
Some clear out the young wood below tlie fruit, 
Others above the fruit the runners stop, 
And others say "by all means let these run." 
No further speculations shall 1 urge 
In queries or solutions ; nor to books, 
Save nature's book refer the disputant. 
If he have but one talent and that be 
To turn the leaves of books, best wrap it up 
And hide it in the ground — a hopeless case. 
If he have mother wit, use it I say ; 
And * Tweedledums' and ' Tweedledees' decide. 
Such champions does the vine's good cause 
req\iire. 

October is the time for making layers. 
Some vignerons the parent vine extend 
Like the Hanian tree, fi om root to root. 
The long curvated limb is planted deep, 
The top ascends and spread again its shoots, 
\A hichin like manner may be stretched along, 
And an indifinite space be planted thus. 
Of certsin growth and meanwhile bearing fruit; 
But generally cuttings are prefered. 

Pruning may in JS'uvember be performed. 
Cut out old useless wood, and needless shoots 
As judgment and experience may decide 
The slioots of last year's growth bear fruit the next 
Fi-om these and these alone the vernal sun 
■\' ill draw forth little shoots that bear the fruit. 
Of these be careful of a good supply. 
Here notious differ widely and of course 
Truth may be looked for in the middle ground 
Let reason and reflection g'uide the hand — 



^S WINE. 

Shall the vine's healthful growth be lopped and 

marred 
^'^'hen in a rich deep soil that fears no drought 
AVhen down to depth unknown tap-roots descend? 
Or on a diy and hunger-bitten soil 
Should not th' attenuated shoots be pruned ? 
Surely ; and thus the loose and gravelly soils 
Such as produce Madeira's richest wine's 
A dark red earth ; clay, sand, and marl combined, 
Unmixed with scoriated substances. 
A general rule is to leave but six joints 
On strongest shoots of the last summer's growth 
Some may have twice that number others half; 
l^utbe not covetous of present gain ; 
The wine deteriorates and the plant droops 
When more than fair proportion is allowed 
To oppress the vine, especially when young. 
In 0|)en weather vines may yet be pruned 
And now unfearful of vile grubs and worms. 
Manure in ample heaps may be applied 
To the roots of vines, to guard them from the frost. 

In making witie, if boastfully inclined, 
America might boast preeminence, 
liut where is he whose habit is not formed 
To deem " Imported" and '* the good" all one, 
*' Domestic" and " the bad" synonemous ! 
Ihit time's sure tread shall folly's foot supplant,^ 
And truth on falshood's ruins firmer stand. 
Are all French wines Burgundy, Hermitage, 
Or from the Clos de Vougeot, made with care 
By Monks obseiTant of peculiar spots ? 
DoeK the five million acres of Frencli vines 
A thousand million gallons yearly give 
Of wine that for six francs per bottle sells i' 
No, and no emulous detractive thought 
Dwells In iny breast— at ti'uth alone I aim. 
Much v.ine of Evirope sees no second year. 



VARIOUSLY PREPARED. 49 

But the light beverage in the first is drank. 
Na), the best vineyards yield unequal wines : 
Some favoured spot alone claims excellence ; 
Thence dyly riuened fruit well culled is brought. 
And sometimes partly dried, sometimes piled up 
On concave tables, whence there percolates 
Syrup-like must that makes the richest wine. 
Next, when the grape is bruised, rich wine flow3 
fortli ; ; ■.if 

And last, the screw's reiterated power ,.: f 

Drains to the vilest dregs the noble fruit. 
The wine that last flows from the precious grape 
Abounds in spirit; mixed with slender wines 
It gives them body and a rosy tint. 

The sparkhng Champagne from de la Marne, . 
(Its two best Districts, Reims and Epernay) !„^A 
Needs no eulogium. In extreme old age 
They froth and sparkle with the glee of youth ; 
And delicately pleasant is their taste. 
Some of the sparkling wines take slight ferment, 
Through cause obscure ; and much this wine is 

prized. 
But, oft unasked they burst their brittle bounds, 
Lost in a startling sound, while far and wide 
The spUntered glass throws missiles sharp around. 
Of black as well as white grapes it is made : 
The grapes are shielded from the eye of day. 
And hurried to the press; where several times 
They feel its force ; till a tinged liquor flows 
\Miich to the fourth class sparkhng wines gives 

strength ; 
Or, to account, with common red wines mixed. 

The grapes for fabricating the vin-roscy 
Are gathered carefully, as for the -white ; 
First from the branches striped, then sligtly pressed 
In the appropriate vat, and there remain 
Till fermentation has at last commenced. 
T. 



1 



50 METHOD PRACTISED IN THE U. STATES. 

Also when the fruit ripens, it ferments, 
Elaborating- its conrponent parts, 
"Which when complete, and the proportions just. 
And feculence removed, it fears no change 
Of seasons, nor regards the lapse of time. 

What is proportion just ? may we not ask 
All Europe, and in answer only hear 
The echo vain, * what is proportion just ?* 
"We for ourselves will answer. We have found 
The saccharine deficient in our grapes"; 
A common fault, by guess Work re;nedied, 
Till the ingenious McCall applied 
Tlie sacharometer and found at once. 
The failing and the certain remedy : 
And the first Vigneron our District boasts, 
Leaves the wayfaring man no room to err. 
And this the sum : take unfermented juice. 
Fresh from the fruit, say, if you pleaSe, a pint ; 
If a fresh egg will to the surface rise, 
No n»ore is requisite ; but should it not. 
From a known quantity of sug-ar add 
So much (allowing it full time to melt) 
As till the egg shall to the surface rise. 
If only poteni liquor please thy taste, 
Add sugar till like a broad thumb the egg 
Above the surface lifts its orbed end : 
"Weigh the remaining sugar, and you have 
"Within the school-boy's reach the weight required 
For the whole quantity, which must be known. 
Then bung it tight; yet, lest the cask should bui*st, 
Let some air from a gimlet hole escape, 
For a few weeks, then drive the peg in tight. 
Nature will do the rest : thy task is now. 
Into clean casks, from the subsided lees. 
From time to time, and when the sky is clear. 
To rack or bottle up the clear, pure wine, 
"When no extraneous sediment remains. 



CONCLUSION. 5)t 

But why prolong these strains ? If I have made 
To ardent sph'its a determined foe, 
If I have filled with clieei"ful hope a swain. 
Determined now to bless his native land 
With the chaste bevei-ag"e that the vine affords, 
And if the fair approve my good design, 
To dash to earth the drunkard's poisoned bowl. 
And of the fire side arch increase the power, 
"W arm, with the temperate glass, the social glow; 
"W hile industr}^, assured of its reward, 
And on its means relying, throws around 
An aegis that defies th' approach of care ; 
yea, and the legion issuing from the still, 
Rags its broad banner, and the wretch its prey. 
Shall beat upon this arch, and be subdued; 
Then have I gained my end. Further detail. 
If needed, may experience soon supply ; 
And soon our wliitc winged ships, with their full 

freight. 
Shall dance upon the brine in haste to pay. 
To foreign lands, th' accumulated debt. 

Not that a reputation or reward 
Attends my toil, nor that these humble themes 
Have music in their sound. Nor 1 well skilled 
As Virgil was, to give the daily scene 
Beauty unknown before ; maternal thought 
That bringeth forth, and nature owns the fruit ; 
Nor have I sought in verbal flowers to dress 
Fruits of experience and research, designed 
To aid Industry in his daily toil ; 
Intent on labour, and in homely dress, 
Unstudious now of dignity or grace. 
Let the green arbour spread inviting sliade, 
Then may enraptured strains more sweetly flov,^:. 
The Muse, not always faithless, whispers thus. 



*l]jpeuAix. 



I can In no other way so well do justice to the 
subject 1 have undertaken, and to nny friends whose 
practical skill has been hig-hly serviceable in the 
prosecution of it, as by annexing*, by way of appen- 
dix, a part at least, of their communications as re- 
ceived. Every reader who feels at all interested 
in the g-eneral subject, will esteem as a treasure, 
the very concise yet clear and comprehensive de- 
tail of the most approved method of planting and 
manag-ing* a vineyard, furnished by Major John Ad- 
lum, comprising- his latest improvments in this 
g-rowing- branch of ag-riculture, to which he has 
devoted the attention it deserves, and has ever en- 
tertained the patriotic desire to diffuse as far as 
possible the information he possesses on the sub- 
ject. 

The method of tyin^ up bearing" wood, as shewn 
by a young" man from York county, Pa, and which 
we have here endeavoured to explain, has been 
found, on the test of experience in this District, 
to possess advantages worthy of consideration, — in 
the tending of the soil, economy in comparison of 
trellises or arbours, avoiding the bad effects of 
bleadingfrom pruning, and the observable improv- 
ment of the fruit. 

Of the valuable extracts from " The Topography 
of all the knoiun Vineyarih** pointed out to me by 
Mr. Adlum, I have deemed the insertion of a very 
few sufficient to shew the diversity in the quality 



53 

■of winesj—that the first quality is the product of 
peculiar cms (spots) only. The object of the work 
is to aid the merchant in making his importations ; 
not to enter into a practical disquisition relative to 
these or the like peculiarities, with a view to ben- 
efit tlie cultivator. No one acquainted with the 
advance, at present made in the U. States in the 
fcibrication of wines, can rise from a perusal of it 
without a conviction that our wines will fai* surpass 
tiie ordinary wines of Europe. And there can be 
no resonable cause of doubt but that cms will be 
found in this country, capable of producing- the 
very best. 

It is fair that I acknowledg-e having- in some few 
instances, availed myself, in the body of the pre- 
ceding- essay, of information which this work, and 
perhaps it alone contains. 

Author.. 



©N PROPAGATING GRAPE VINES IN A 
VINEYARD. 

Ist. After having- made choice of a situation which 
1 would recommend to be as near the top of a hill 
as posible, so as to have all the advantages of a 
free circulation of air. 

2ncl, Prepare the ground by raising- potatoes or 
other ameliorating- crops, or by frequent and deep 
ploughing-s. 

3d. Mark out the rows, viz. two rows within four 
feet of each other, and then leave an interval of 
ten feet, and then ag-ain two rows within four or 
five feet then again ten feet, by this mode of plan- 
ting* they will have a free circulation of air, and 
they may be worked with the plough, taking- care 
not to go too near the vines where they must be 
worked with a spade or hoe. 

4th. Stretch in the course a line, and at every four 
feet dig holes for planting the cuttings four feet 
apart and about eighteen inches deep, and have 
some good compost, or well rotted manure to mix 
with tlie earth, and for want of these take the best 
earth near the surface of the ground. 

5th. Provide your cuttings, for I would always 
prefer these to rooted plants, when the cuttings are 
well chosen, which should be of shoots that are 
strong and well ripened of last year's growth : the 
bottom part should be cut off smooth near the 
joint, and the upper part should be cut about half 
an inch above the upper bud or eye, sloping from 
the opposite side of the bud, so that if it should 
chance to bleed, the sap will nf)t run on the bud. 
The cuttings should be from sixteen inches to two 
feet long, and have five or six eyes. 

6th llaving your holes dug, and your cuttings 
provided, plant one in each hole so deep that the 



upper bud only is above the surface of the g^round;- 
then fill in the eai'th, pressing- it to the cutting-, and 
if it should be in the fall or winter that they are 
planted, cover the upper bud with a small hillock, 
which must be removed in the spring" as soon a» 
the buds begin to swell, and if from any cause the 
upper bud should perish, remove the earth to with- 
in half an inch of the next bud below, when there 
is but little danger of its not growing — when you 
plant your cuttings set a stake by each, a common 
lath will answer for two years. 

7th Keep your vineyard clear of weeds by work- 
ing it occasionally, and suffer but one shoot to 
grow this season, by rubbing of all others with 
your thumb and finger. 

8th. In the autumn raise a little earth about the 
young plant, which must be removed the' next 
spring ; and at the same time, after rubbing oft' the 
lower bud or eye, prune to three buds or eyes, and 
after they shoot preserve the two strongest of them 
rubbing off all the others^ there will frequently be 
two shoots from one bud ; rub off the lower one of 
the two, as it is always the weakest ; and keap 
tlie vineyard clear of weeds as last year. 

9th In the autumn, say in the month of Novem- 
ber, after rubbing off the lower bud prune each of 
the two 'ilioots again to three eyes or buds ; (ex- 
cept uhere they may have grown very strong, 
then there may be more left at the discretion of the 
person pruning;) and provide good stakes this 
year seven feet high, and about an inch and a half 
square, and tie two of the shoots one to each side of 
the stake, and suffer them to grow at full length, 
and rub off all side shoots; and if there should 
fruit appear suffer but one cluster of grapes to 
each shoot to ripen so that the shoots may gather 
Strength to produce a fail- crop the next year. 



56 



But there may be some of the vines so strong 
on the third year, as to produce a fair crop of 
grapes, and as there is no mode of describing* it, it 
must be left to the discretion of the Vigneron ; for 
more can be sliewn in a vineyard in five minutes, 
tlian could be satisfactorily explained on a sheet 
of paper. 

10th, This seasoni.the vines must be pruned for 
bearing fruit — which is done by cutting of the two 
shoots (that are to bear fruit) from twlve to, six- 
teen buds or eyes, and tying them to the stake on 
eich side, crossing each other in manner of a ring ; 
and as the stake is square, , ti'ain two shoots lor 
aext year's bearing on the two other sides off the 
stakes at full lengtli to bear fruit on the following 
year. '•.,•,:•• 

11th. When the grdpes are the size of peas cut 
off the end of the vine at least two joints beyond 
the last cluster of grapes, that the grapes may come 
to the greater perfection. 

12th. When you again pruin your vines, cut off 
those that have born fruit close to the vine, and 
the bearing shoots mustbc pruned as last directed, 
those that are to bear fruit to be tied up in a circu- 
lar manner, and those that are to bear fruit the next 
year, to be tied up as above directed, and suffered 
to grow at full length. 

By planting the vines in rows of ten feet and five 
feet apart, and the plants at four feet distance in 
the rows, there will be about 1400 plants to an acre^ 
and each plant, according to the number of bear- 
ing shoots left, will have from 30 to 60 clustei-s of 
grapes. • 

By having the rows at ten feet and fourfeet apart, 
and\he plants four feet distant in the rows, there 
will be about 1500 plants on an acre, which will 
also produce as above. 



Rxtracts fi'om •' The Topography of all known 
Vineyards.** London — 1824. 

Before the appearance of this work, the French 
were unacquainted with their own vineyards, and 
the comparative state of their products ; and with 
the exception of Bordeaux wines, the Eng-Ush, at 
this time, have only a superficial knowledg-e of the 
names of certain vineyards. To this ignoi-ance 
may, in a great measur, be attributed the continual 
disappointments experienced by the importer of 
French wines. It is notonous, that a bottle of g-ood 
Burg-undy or Hermetag'e, is seldom to be met with, 
however dearly purchased : the fault is immediate- 
ly laid upon the chang-e of temperature and carii- 
ag-e ; but these are not the only causes. Page 6. 

Few persons '^re aware, that the most famous 
vineyards do not produce a liquor of equal quality 
throug-hout, but owe their celebrity to certain fa- 
voured cms or spots ; such is the case with the Clot 
de Voxigeot, which g-ained its fame from a particular 
mode of collecting- the g'rapes and from certan parts 
by the Monks ; whereas Mr. Tortoni Ravel, their 
successor, followed a direct contrary practice, g-a- 
thei'ing the whole produce indiscriminately, and 
selling- it all at the same price, six francs per bottle, 
each sealed with his name ; thus, as the people of 
the country accuse him, sacrificing- the quality to 
the quantity. Ag^ain, the best grapes produce juice 
of different qualities according' to the different 
pressing's, from the best to the very lowest; aH 
which are kept separate, and used according- to 
the will and discretion of the wine-maker. In both 
the above cases the wine may be the real product 
of tlie vineyard quoted, and yet bad. 

Pages ^t7 & ^, preface. 



58 



FuANCE, situated about the centre of Europe, is, 
by its position and the nature of its soil, the coun- 
try richest in vines. According- to the documents 
collected by the minister of the interior, it conUiiji- 
cd, in 1815, about 1,734,000 hectares of vines, 
[the hectare is 2.346 acres,] which produced, upon 
an average crop 31,000,000 hcctoUtrcs — [eac|i 26^ 
gallons.] Since that time considerable plantations 
have been made ; 1,900,000 hectares, now appro- 
priated to this purpose, produce about 34,000,000 
hectolitres of wine. In tlie provinces unfavourable 
to the vine about 7,000,000 hectolitres of beer, and 
10,000,000 hectoUtres of cider are annuidly fabri- 
cated. 

Page 1 & 2. 

Loan is situ:Ated upon a hill, and surounded with 
vines. The vines on the south side are the best. 

Chateau Thierry produces, upon the sides of the 
Marne, wines tollerable delicate, but without body 
or spirit. pag"e 5. 

Jieauvais, Clermont, Srnlis, Compiecne. 

3.500 hectares of vines produce annually 124,000 
hectolitres; i)ad wine, which does not bear carriaj^e. 

The wines of Champa^ie are too well known to 
require any eulog^y. The vineyards of the depart, 
ment de hi JMarne are those only which furnish the 
famous wine. Some cms of the department de I* 
Aiibe produce red -wines justly esteemed : those of 
Haute JMarne are less exported. The wines of tlie 
department des Ardennes are of inferior quality, 
and do I'iOt leave the country. Page 13. 

The environs of Saint Dizicr produce a great 
quantity of small wines; the proprietors are accu- 
sed of increasing their colour by black wines and 
elderberries and archil, called brinbelles. Pa 30 

Uhan near Befort, a wine, called rongen\ it at- 
tacks tlic nerves violently, and causes paralysis. 



59 



The wines, csAleCi ^entils, come from a fine grape 
called riesling; which is called ^entil raisiri^ to dis- 
ting-viish in from the common, called burger. The 
proprietors have of late years mixed brandy with 
this wine, and added common wines, have much in- 
jured its reputation. Page 39. 

Cote (POr. In good seasons these wines unite 
all the quaUties of perfect wine. They want no 
mixture or preparation to reach the highest degree 
of perfection. The operations, which in other 
counteries are called soincy qui aident la Qualitc\ 
are hiirtfvd to these wines. They have their pecu- 
liar hoijuet, which is not brought out under three 
or four years. The introduction of Jromatics, or 
other wines, changes them. Even the mixture of 
two wines of the first class destroys the boquet, and 
reduces them to the second class, and even to the 
third. The red wines join to a beautiful colour 
much perfume and a delicious taste, and are at the 
same time carse'sy [bodied,] fine, delicate, and 
spirituous, without being too heady. The -white 
possess the same qualities, they are moeUevx, [sub- 
stantial,] and grown old of an amber colour. 

In the department of the Cote d' Or, and district 
of Chalons sur Saune, about 21,200,000 gallons of 
wine are made, of which the inhabitants consume 
8,480,000, the rest is exported. Page 66. 

The crxis forming the first class of red wines of 
Burgund}- are, excepting le Chambertiiiy situated 
in the canton of Xuits, three leagues north-west 
from Beduiie ; the real wine is seldom procurable, 
as the vineyard consists of only one hundred and 
seventy-two ares of ground, [about 4 acres,] pro- 
ducing on an average, not more than ten or twelve 
pieces, or dcmi queues [about 56 gal. each.] P. 67. 

The wines of Torins are finer and riper than 
those of Cheiiasy which have mQre body. The mix- 



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022 265 784 

60 






ture of the two, which spoils the wines of other 
vineyards, forms with thefie a perfect wine. They 
will keep ten years. Page 81. 

Pouillif, two leagues from Macon. These wines 
appear with credit in the third class of wines: they 
are moelleux, Jinsy corses, c_§t< a^/e^, and have du 
bouquet. They are accused, with reason, of being 
toofumex. [heady.] Page 85. 

La Rochelle, bad, with a disagreeable taste of soil. 
VIsle d' Oleron, and Vlsle de Re, wines similar or 
inferior. Page 97 

J\Iarseillan et de Pommersls, wines called r/e P/c- 
ardan, the name of the grape ; Uquoreux without 
being muscat ; a very good flavour and boquet. — 
They keep long and bear carriage ; they are used 
to give flavour to wines which fail in this ; they be- 
come dry by age. The must of this grape is used 
to make the wine Muet, or wine whose fermenta- 
tion is stopped by sulphur. A vin de ligiieurf call- 
ed Vin de ColdbrCf is made by pouring in brandy. 

JS'Iontbasin muscat wines, called jyfuscatelles ; 
unless drunk within three or four years, they lose 
their flavour and sweetness. . Page 134. 

St. Estephe, Villeneuve de la Riviere, a great 
quantity of common wine ; they are used for mix- 
ture with other wines. The best are more drank 
as tonics than used as table wines. Page 144. 

Spaijt. In all the provinces of this country a 
considerable quantity of wine of different kinds is 
made, which forms the base of a great commerce. 
These wines differ from the French in the quality 
of the plants, the heat of the climate, and manner 
of preparation ; the grapes are suff"ered to become 
quite ripe, and part of the ot7<s^ is moreover con- 
centrated by boiling for forty-four hours. It re- 
.quires a length of time to acquire the flavour and 
perfume ; and the price varies accordingly. P. 174 



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